Travelling by Train - Need suggestions
 

Hello again,

I am looking for some suggestions on the best railways/transportation to use when travelling across countries. Specifically going from Paris France to Mainz Germany, across Germany to Strasbourg, Stuttgard and Munich and from Munich to Venice Italy, then Florence, Positano, and Rome.

We are students so we are looking for something reasonably priced, along the cheaper side. There will be two of us. Outlined below is where we will need travel to and from. Thank you !

Paris - Mainz

Mainz - Strasbourg

Strasbourg - Stuttgard

Stuttgard - Munich

Munich - Venice

Venice - Florence

Florence - Positano

Positano - Rome

1. Why are you traveling Paris to Mainz then Strasbourg then Stuttgart? Would it be more reasonable to go Paris, Strasbourg, Mainz, Stuttgart? It's more logical, geographically.

2. For travel to, from, and within Germany use the German rail site:
http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml

3. For travel in France:
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/

4. Travel in Italy:
http://www.italotreno.it/EN/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...005817f90aRCRD

5. For Positano you will need to get on a bus as well as a train.

Book 60 to 90 days in advance for the best (non refundable) prices. You can compare prices ahead by using a date 60 to 90 days from today.

There is no train to Positano. If you are traveling between April and October, you could train from Florence to Salerno, then take the ferry from Salerno to Positano. To get to Rome, you would just do the reverse - ferry from Positano to Salerno, then direct train from Salerno to Rome.

If you choose this option (which is preferable), there are porters you can hire at the dock in Positano to take your luggage to your hotel. Also, ensure that your train arrives in Salerno in time to catch the last ferry to Positano (it is a short walk from the train station to the ferry dock). www.coopsantandrea.com for ferry schedules.

If you are traveling November to March, you would train from Florence to Naples, then either train/bus from Naples to Positano, or hire a driver to take you from Naples to Positano. Reverse to get to Rome.

Hi Adrienne, thank you for the links!

It made more sense to us to go across to Mainz, then down to Strasboug across to Stuttgard then to Munich. Instead of going to Strasbourg, up to Mainz then back down again. Especially since Strasbourg and Stuttgard are close, it reduces some travel time.

Check out the website www.seat61.com, which explains train travel in Europe.

<< Especially since Strasbourg and Stuttgard are close, it reduces some travel time. >>

I just checked your itinerary vs. the itinerary I recommended using the quickest train trips. My itinerary takes 9 hours and yours takes 10.5 hours.

You probably used specific train times when comparing your itinerary and mine which I'm not aware of. And, of course, price is a factor when choosing schedules.

If you are 25 or under, check out rail passes on Rail Europe as these can be very reasonable for people under 25. But compare the cost of a multi country rail pass with the cost of point to point tickets. Rick Steves has a map on his website that shows travel times and approximate rail prices. Train travel in Europe is wonderful but it does help to become as educated as you can and the maninseat61 site is very helpful as are YouTube videos. Have a wonderful time!

I would NOT rely on either RailEurope OR that Rick Steves map for any prices.

You are better off using the various country railway sites as listed above since they have the most up-to-date information.

Hi Adrienne,

Correct me if i'm wrong but this is how I worked it out (using google maps, is there a better way than this, that may be how we are not agreeing on times)Keep in mind that this is going to be over the course of 6 days, sorry I didn't mention that, I had meant to imply it.

My original Itinerary:

Paris - Mainz approx 4 hrs

Mainz - Strasbourg France approx 2 hrs

Strasbourg - Stuttgart approx 1 hr 44 mins.

Stuttgart - Munich approx 2 hr and 30

Total hours: approx 9.74 hours

Your suggestion:
Paris - Strasbourg approx 4 hrs 44 mins

Strasbourg - Mainz approx 3 hrs 30 mins

Mainz - Stuttgart approx 1 hr 45 mins

Stuttgart - Munich approx 2hr 30 mins

Total: 11.5 hours

Sorry, but I have no idea how to use google maps for train times; I took a look and can't figure it out - perhaps you can let me now how to do this. I thought google maps only gave driving or pedestrian times.

I used the bahn.de site (mentioned above) for train times as it's the easiest site to use. Here are the times I got:

<u>Kayla's Suggestion:</u>

Paris - Mainz 4 hrs 8 min

Mainz - Strasbourg France 2 hrs 55 min (there is an earlier train that takes 2 hours 25 min)

Strasbourg - Stuttgart 1 hr 17 min

Stuttgart - Munich 2 hr and 15 min

Total hours: 10.5 hours (approx)

<u>Adrienne's Suggestion:</u>

Paris - Strasbourg 2 hrs 18 min

Strasbourg - Mainz 3 hrs (2:56, 2:59, 3:05)

Mainz - Stuttgart 1 hr 29 min

Stuttgart - Munich 2hr 15 min

Total: 9 hours (approx)

I will take a look at that site! Thanks for the insight, at this point there isn't a huge time difference but i'm sure the itinerary will change considerably more before we actually leave so I will consider your route :)